The Contemporary Austin Museum Inc

Nonprofit profile at a glance

EIN
741233816
IRS 990 coverage
2010–2024
Forms available
Form 990 2024, Form 990-T 2020
Location
Austin, TX, USA
Phone
5124588191
Rating
69
Verdict
SUPPORTED
Rating confidence
Moderate
Sector
Art Museums

Official website

Reported finances

Revenue
$8,611,154
Expenses
$10,265,447
Assets
$39,125,628
Liabilities
$1,239,220

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Amounts in USD.

Leadership & pay

36 people listed

Executive titles in this filing

  • DEBORAH DUPRE (PRESIDENT)
  • VALERIE ARMSTRONG (VICE PRESIDENT)
  • SHARON MAIDENBERG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR)

Highest reported compensation

  • SHARON MAIDENBERG (EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR): $283,471 total reported compensation
  • ALEXANDRA KLEIN (HEAD CURATOR/DIR CURATORIA): $139,230 total reported compensation
  • DANIEL ORENDORFF (SR DIRECTOR PROGRAMS & ENG): $108,207 total reported compensation

Source: IRS Form 990. Selected filing: tax year 2024. Names and roles reflect this filing, not necessarily current officeholders.

Overview

Mission

The contemporary austin aspires to be the contemporary art museum for austin and an essential part of city life. Through its unique combination of urban and outdoor sites, the contemporary austin will embody an eclectic and collaborative spirit.

What it reported doing in 2024

As austin's only museum dedicated to commissioning and exhibiting work by leading contemporary artists, the contemporary austin occupies an important position in the region's cultural landscape. Each year, the contemporary austin welcomes 60,000 visitors to the museum's two unique sites-laguna gloria on the shores of lake austin and the jones center in downtown austin. The contemporary austin is currently designing a master plan for the development of the betty and edward marcus sculpture park at laguna gloria, a space for the public to experience exceptional works of art framed by the vibrant Texas landscape and the site's distinctive cultural heritage.the contemporary austin's core programs include an annual roster of exhibitions featuring new, site-responsive work by today's most innovative and ambitious artists. Recent exhibitions have featured internationally acclaimed artists ai weiwei, do ho suh, jim hodges, wangechi mutu, tom friedman, tom sachs, robert thierrien, monika sosnowska, roger hiorns, nancy holt, bruce nauman, anya gallacio, superflex, ryan gander, carol bove and trisha baga attracting coverage in national and international publications such as artforum, the New York times, and the wall street journal.

Operating model

Revenue model
Mixed. Its operating money came from several sources; no one source provided a clear majority.
Distribution model
Direct operator. The filing allocates 100% of reported program-service expenses outside its grant, affiliate-payment, and member-benefit lines. This expense classification does not rule out separately announced grant awards.
  • Includes noncash contributions: Reported contributions include donated property or goods.

The verdict

SUPPORTED - The filed numbers largely add up and most voting board members are independent. A relatively small share of total spending goes to programs and fundraising costs are high for each dollar raised.

Rating breakdown

  • Financial Efficiency: 50
  • Transparency & Controls: 81
  • Accountability: 100
  • Sustainability: 40
  • Growth: 60

Detailed rating inputs

Financial Efficiency

  • Mission deployment rate: 60.9%; rating input score 61
  • Program expense ratio: 43.3%; rating input score 43
  • Fundraising efficiency: $3.75 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 12; 12th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

  • Consistency checks: 94.4%; rating input score 94; 24th percentile among comparable filings
  • Pay-setting controls: 4 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 67
    • Compensation committee: Missing
    • Independent consultant: Missing
    • Other Form 990s reviewed: Pass
    • Written employment contract: Pass
    • Compensation survey or study: Pass
    • Board or committee approval: Pass
  • Foreign activity oversight: Limited
  • Grant itemization coverage: Limited
  • Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
  • Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

  • Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
  • Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
    • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
    • Whistleblower policy: Pass
    • Document-retention policy: Pass
    • CEO compensation review process: Pass
    • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
    • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
    • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
    • Audit committee oversight: Pass
    • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

  • Operating margin: -19.2%; rating input score 7; 7th percentile among comparable filings
  • Total-asset coverage ratio: 3.81; rating input score 79; 79th percentile among comparable filings
  • Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.03; rating input score 76; 76th percentile among comparable filings
  • Officer compensation ratio: 7.2%; rating input score 40; 40th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

  • Program expense growth: 1.8% per year; rating input score 100; 21st percentile among comparable filings
  • Revenue growth: -2.8% per year; rating input score 0; 5th percentile among comparable filings
  • Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 29th percentile among comparable filings

Details

  • Where the money goes: 60.9% of revenue deployed · 43.3% of spending went to programs
  • Governance: 31 of 31 board members independent · 8 of 8 filing controls reported
  • Programs: 4 filed program accomplishments · $4.4M in reported program spending
  • Leadership: top reported pay $283K · 36 people listed · 4 of 6 pay-setting controls reported
  • Highest-paid contractors: 5 contractors listed · $642K reported
  • Consistency: 35 of 35 current checks pass
  • Schedules: 7 filed schedules · includes major donors and executive pay
  • Filing history: 14 filing years from 2010 to 2024
  • Contacts: How to reach this organization
  • Money network: 5 filed money-flow records
  • Related organizations: Filed and resolved organization relationships.
  • Grant readiness: Federal tax and exclusion status, award history, and grant-maker relationships.
  • People: Everyone the filings name, and which of them the filings identify by more than a name.

Key Signals

Signals prioritize questions for review. They are not findings of misconduct.

  • Moderate — Financial Efficiency: Program expense ratio scored 43/100.
  • High — Financial Efficiency: Fundraising efficiency scored 12/100.
  • High — Sustainability: Operating margin scored 7/100.
  • High — Growth: Revenue growth scored 0/100.
  • Moderate — Sustainability: Officer compensation ratio scored 40/100.